Perfectly Imperfect
by UnqualifiedAras
Summary: Levy was smart, very smart, and was able to come up with some pretty good strategies but she was definitely not someone that everyone dreamed about. She was short and not curvy at all. She was flat chested and it seemed that the only heads she ever turned were Jet and Droy. Will a conversation with a certain Dragon Slayer change her perception?
1. Chapter 1

**Perfectly Imperfect**

* * *

"I really could use a break after that last mission." Levy looked up from her book where she was reading about a princess who had just lost her love forever. Lucy was leaning against the bar and Erza was standing in front of her with a smirk.

"I too could use a break to be honest." Erza requipped into a much more revealing outfit that looked closer to a pair of pajamas. There were several oohs around the room and Levy noticed that suddenly the two girls had the attention of almost every guy in the room.

Levy sighed and looked back down to her book but she wasn't reading it. She was too deep in thought. Levy was smart, very smart, and was able to come up with some pretty good strategies but she was definitely not someone that everyone dreamed about. She was short and not curvy at all. She was flat chested and it seemed that the only heads she ever turned were Jet and Droy.

Now, there was nothing wrong with Jet and Droy. They were her best friends and they had been through a lot together but it was not them she was wanting attention from. There were several members of the guild and in Magnolia that were good looking but if she was being completely honest with herself she wanted the attention of a certain dragon slayer. He was muscular, tall, strong, and handsome even though he had a very rugged appearance. The doors to the guild opened and the booming voice of Natsu filled the hall.

"I'll get you next time Gajeel! You better watch your back."

"Heh, we'll see about that." Levy's eyes shot up as Gajeel entered the hall. Several other people were watching his heated exchange with Natsu. She smiled a little as she watched Gajeel get more and more into it. She wasn't sure when she started to not be scared or intimidated by Gajeel. But somewhere along the line her observations of him grew into a steady like.

But Levy knew better. She was not the girl that guys like Gajeel (or any guys for that matter) went for. Dejectedly she sighed and turned to her book once again. She jumped back into the story and told her thoughts to keep quiet and just concentrate on the words in front of her. Something that sounded like a mug slammed on the table and a larger person sat in front of her.

Levy slowly raised her eyes to see the calculating face of Gajeel. He was staring at her as he ate some iron that was on the table next to a mug. She just stared at him for a few minutes wondering why he sat next to her. She wasn't complaining but her heart was sure having a hard time calming down with the gaze he was giving her.

"Can I help you?" Levy tried to sound as feisty as normal but it came out a little more confused.

"I just need a place to sit and eat shorty. Why are you reading in a loud guild hall?" Gajeel shoved some more iron in his mouth.

"I was taking a break from the stressful missions I've been going on but I didn't want to be on my own." She held his gaze for a few more minutes but then Natsu yelled something and she turned her head to watch was going on. She figured Gajeel was done talking to her like normal.

"Why aren't you wearing your wind readers?" Levy was startled but tried to hide her surprise that he was observant enough to notice.

"I wanted to read this slowly since it's just for fun." He nodded at her statement and turned his gaze to look at Erza, Lucy, and Natsu. Levy followed his gaze and sighed seeing what he was looking at. With sudden courage Levy decided to ask him something personal.

"Gajeel, what kind of women do you like?" Gajeel stopped midway bringing a piece of iron to his mouth. He turned and looked at her curiously.

"The heck's this coming from?"

"I was just curious is all. I've never seen you date so I was just wondering what type of woman the rough black steel Gajeel would go for." Levy scratched her cheek awkwardly as she tried to come up with a good reason why she was asking besides general curiosity since she was starting to crush on him. He seemed to believe her though since he smiled a little.

"So you're just curious Shorty? All right. Well I'd have to say. . ." He turned his head to look around everyone in the guild hall. Levy figured he was sizing up all the women so that he could tell her exactly what he was attracted to. "I guess I would have to say a little taller and curvy. Definitely curvy. She would also have to be a good fighter since I would love to spar with her. I would also want her to be smart so that we can get out of any situation and she can keep me grounded since sometimes I don't always think."

He chuckled a little at this and Levy cracked a small smile. Her heart splintered with each sentence he spoke. Sure, she was smart so she could fulfill the last one but she was no where near tall or curvy and she definitely was not a strong fighter. How many times had Gajeel needed to save her?

"What about you? What kind of men are you interested in?" Gajeel smirked at Levy as he took a drink. She rolled her eyes since she knew he was teasing her question.

"I don't really know. I suppose tall, strong, and smart. I also would love if he loved me with all my eccentricities." Gajeel nodded.

"Any other physical characteristics besides tall? I mean I told you tall and curvy."

"I'm not really particular. Just as long as he's good looking and makes me feel like a princess in his eyes." Gajeel took another drink and regarded her for a few seconds before he spoke.

"Well that sounds good. Good luck with that. I know you could date Jet. I would have said Droy but he's a little too big right now to meet some of your criteria." Levy nodded and retreated her eyes back to her book.

Gajeel was right. She could date Jet. He was good looking and a pretty strong fighter on the battlefield. He also was tall so that was a plus. They were also already close and he already had a crush on her. But he didn't make her heart flutter like Gajeel did and he didn't banter with her like Gajeel did. Bottom line was he wasn't Gajeel.

Levy raised her eyes to observe Gajeel. He was back to watching the group at the bar. He had a serious expression on his face and he had his arms folded across his chest. He had run out of iron and Levy was tempted to write him some more but she wasn't sure he was still hungry. He had just gotten back from a job with a rather large group. He had been with Lucy, Erza, Natsu, Gray, and Juvia. He looked a little worn but other than that he looked attractive all the same. He was still wearing a headband and she had to admit that he was even more attractive with it on. He seemed like he wanted to go join the others in their banter at the bar but like he felt obligated to sit with her.

Levy sighed for what felt like the millionth time that day and smiled as best she could. "You know, you can go sit with them if you'd like. I won't be offended. Thanks for keeping me company." Gajeel watched her out of the corner of his eye.

"What makes you think that I want to go sit with those idiots?"

"You keep watching them and there's an interesting look in your eye." Gajeel sat still while Levy watched him thinking through some things. What could he possibly be thinking?

"You're very observant Shorty. Well, thanks for the interesting discussion." He nodded at her, picked up his mug, and left the table to join the others at the bar. Levy watched as he walked up and started ranting at Natsu. Soon others joined in and it was like he belonged there with them and not her.

Levy shut her book and leaned her head on her arms on the table. What was she going to do? This crush of hers was getting a little out of hand. Especially since he was not interested in someone like her. Levy closed her eyes and slowly drifted off into sleep thinking about Gajeel and all the ways he would never like her. She tried to keep her mind from going into that dangerous direction but was not able to do so successfully.

* * *

Gentle fingers pulled at her arm and Levy strained to open her eyes. Someone was trying to pick her up. The smell that filled her nostrils was metallic. Her eyes finally opened and adjusted back to the light of the guild hall. Strong arms held her under her knees and around her back. She nuzzled into the tan shirt. She didn't want to look up at the person carrying her. She was sure it was probably Jet that had found her sleeping in the guild hall again.

The arms around her held her tighter as she snuggled closer and soon they were out in the chill night air. The person carried her all the way to the girls dormitories but Levy didn't notice. She had dozed off somewhere along the way.

"You can carry her up to her room. But no funny business!" Levy almost cracked a smile at Erza's threat. She had never heard her speak so forcefully with Jet before. Jet just grunted in acknowledgment and made his way into the dorm.

As they neared her room Levy made an effort to really wake up. She wanted to be able to thank him properly for bringing her all the way home again. She stirred and rubbed her eyes and tried to focus them as he opened the door to her room.

"Holy crap that's a lot of books." Levy's half blurred eyes immediately cleared up and she jumped out of the arms carrying her.

"Gajeel?! What the heck are you doing here?" He folded his arms and looked down at her.

"Well that's a nice greeting to someone who carried you all the way here from the guild hall."

"Why?" Levy was so confused. He left her earlier to go hang out with Lucy and Natsu. She had fallen asleep several hours later and he wasn't in the guild hall. Plus, since when did Gajeel do nice things for her like carry her home?

"Because you shouldn't be sleeping in the guild hall. I saw you there and decided you'd be more comfortable here so I brought you here." She studied him critically but then decided it meant nothing. She shrugged as she headed farther into her bedroom.

"Well thank you for being so considerate. Would you like anything to drink, eat, or read?" Gajeel laughed a little at her last item and followed her into her room. There were two over stuffed chairs amid all the chaos of books so he decided to sit there.

"If you had any iron I'd take that. My strength is still pretty weak from that mission." Levy nodded as she took a seat in the other chair and with her script magic created some small sections of iron.

"Amazing, thanks."

"No worries."

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Gajeel thoughtfully chewed on his iron and Levy stared off into the mess of books trying to organize them. Gajeel's chewing stopped and she turned to look at him. He was watching her intently and she almost shivered.

"Why did you really ask me about my type of girl today?" Levy was taken aback.

"I'm sorry?"

"You know, earlier in the guild hall you asked me what kind of woman I was interested in. You said it was just curiosity but I can tell that it's something else. So what is it?" Levy brought her hand up and nervously chewed on her thumb nail.

"Ah, well I was actually curious. That was the reason but it's kinda hard to explain." Her cheeks were starting to turn red and Levy tried to calm down.

"I'm sure I'm smart enough to understand." He placed the uneaten iron on a pile of books and leaned back in his chair.

"Okay. . . um. . . well. . ." Levy averted her gaze from him to the floor. "You see, I was mainly asking to see if you would be interested in a girl like me. But I am like the complete opposite of what you want."

"And why would you care about that?" Levy swallowed really hard. She couldn't tell him that she was interested in him. No way. He would laugh in her face or be really offended like he was with most things.

"I was trying to gauge who in the guild would be after a bookworm. I was thinking of finding someone to date that isn't Jet and Droy. You're not the only one I asked." Levy sunk lower into her chair. Her cheeks had turned back to a slightly flushed pallor and she was feeling really confident in her lie.

"So you were asking me for data purposes?"

"Yep, that about sums it up." Levy smiled as brightly as she could but the look on Gajeel's face told her he knew it was forced.

"Well, what did the other guys you interview say?" Gajeel took another piece of iron and started to chew.

"Three of them said busty and outgoing. They also didn't care if she was smart or not. One guy said he didn't super care but she had to have curves and not be super clingy. Then there was another guy that said she had to be a really strong fighter. Most of them agreed with that one too."

Levy was thankful that she didn't have to really lie about this one. There were lots of guys in the guild that she had talked to before about their dating preferences. They mainly were telling her so she could help set them up or something.

"Wow, that sounds like everyone in the guild prefers the same kind of woman." Levy shrugged her shoulders.

"It makes sense. It's a wizard guild and there are only a few things that usually happen. One of the biggest ones being fights so having skills on the battlefield as well as smarts and good looks automatically makes you a prime target. Just look at Mirajane and Erza. They're super scary in battle but when they are being down to earth and dressed casually all the men swoon."

Gajeel nodded. "That makes perfect sense. Plus, even though Lucy is maybe a little weaker in battle she makes up for it in looks and smarts."

"Yep, Lulu is something else. Definitely puts a little shrimp like me to shame!" Levy playfully winked at Gajeel and stood up from her seat. "Well, I don't want to be rude but if you don't leave in the next five minutes Erza is going to come barreling in here and trust me you do not want that to happen."

Gajeel's eyes widened and he immediately beelined for the door. He stopped just outside it for a second. "You really shouldn't sell yourself short like that shorty."

Levy stumbled for a minute on her way to the door. "I'll try. Thanks again for bringing me home. Goodnight."

"Night." Gajeel waved and answered gruffly as he sprinted down the hallway. Within a few minutes Levy could hear Erza screaming at him. She laughed to herself and made her way to get ready for bed.

After changing her clothes and brushing her teeth Levy sunk into her bed and stared out the window at the moon. It was illuminating the tree in front of her window beautifully. _Don't sell yourself short like that shorty_. Levy tried not to think too much about what Gajeel had said but she couldn't stop her heart from fluttering. So what if she wasn't everyone's ideal woman? So what if she wasn't his ideal woman? She was still able to crush on him from afar. With that thought she drifted off into a deep sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Perfectly Imperfect**

 _Chapter Two_

* * *

Levy stumbled a little the next morning as she walked to the guild hall. Her thoughts swam with the talks she had with Gajeel the day before. He was so nice to her and sadly, she was not his type. But she decided not to stop crushing on him. She sighed as she reached the doors of the guild and entered. Her body was still sore from the last mission she went on and she hoped to get a few days of rest in.

Jet and Droy immediately appeared at her side and pulled her into a group hug. Levy couldn't help but smile at them as they did. These were her boys and she loved them. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw Gajeel sitting at a table and his muscles tensed. _That's odd._

"How are you Levy? Feeling all right?" Jet smiled brightly.

"I'm good. A little sore but it's not too bad. How about you two?"

"We're great. Especially now that you're here Levy! We just picked up a job, what do you say about going with us?" Droy smiled at her as he took a bite of a burger.

"I wo-"

"She's got a job with me."

Levy turned around shocked that she wasn't allowed to answer only to see Gajeel with his arms folded right behind her. He smirked at the two boys and then casually threw his arm around her tiny shoulders. Levy had to readjust a little so that she wouldn't fall over with the new weight.

"I need someone smart on this next mission and Lily and I decided Levy was the perfect choice. Sorry boys!"

Levy turned to look at her boys who were staring at Gajeel with their eyes wide and their mouths open. "Uh, sure, we can do a different job or wait for her to get back."

Gajeel nodded. "Come on Shorty, let's go." He turned around pulling Levy with him. Lily followed behind them with a smirk of his own. Levy walked in a daze out of the guild hall. Gajeel kept his arm around her but had straightened up a bit to walk.

"Um, what kind of job are we going on?"

"It's a simple one really. We need to track down someone that's been terrorizing a city. But the problem is that he only uses ancient languages to communicate any messages so the townspeople can't even tell what he wants."

"Well I can definitely help with that." Levy smiled brightly up at Gajeel as she laughed.

"Precisely why I picked ya." He winked at her and Levy's cheeks turned a little pink as she focused her attention back forward.

They continued down the road. It was going to take them at least two days to get there on foot but Gajeel demanded that they not use any transportation. Levy rolled her eyes at his childishness but secretly loved the way he pouted and begged. She was walking behind him and Lily as they discussed training and fighting strategies. She listened to them a bit but her thoughts kept running away.

She still didn't understand why Gajeel had picked her for this mission in the first place. Sure she could translate old languages but so could Freed and sometimes Lucy. Also, this mission seemed like a little lighter than Gajeel usually went. He liked the rougher missions that seemed to always promise fighting or heavy lifting. This was a simple tracking and translation job. She could have easily taken this job with team Shadow Gear. So why?

Levy shook her head as Lily dropped onto her shoulder. "Hello Levy. How's the walk?"

Levy chuckled. Lily was such a softie and she loved him. "It's pretty good. My feet are holding out and I'm sure we'll get there eventually without taking the train." Levy made sure to add a subtle jab at Gajeel. Lily laughed and then snuggled a little more into her neck.

"I'm glad you came with us. Missions get boring sometimes when it's just me and Gajeel. Not to mention you're more snuggly." Levy giggled but stopped when she saw that Gajeel had stopped and was glaring at Lily.

"More snuggly? I'm not good enough?"

"Nope. Levy is way better." Levy giggled again and Gajeel scoffed.

"We'll just have to see about that."

Levy didn't know what he meant by that but for some reason her cheeks grew warm. Lily seemed to like that because he started to purr with the new warmth.

* * *

The sun cast its last few rays for the day as Levy looked at everything around her. They were about halfway to their destination and would be stopping soon to camp. Gajeel was not one to stay in hotels unless he had to. He always gave off too gruff of an impression and the desk clerks and patrons usually treated him warily.

She sighed as she took in the sight of more and more trees. She loved walking as much as the next person but her legs were a lot shorter than Gajeel's and he was keeping a steady pace. But she was trying her best to not show she was tired. She was a freaking Fairytail mage for crying out loud! She was up for the S Class trials. She could walk a little without complaining. But man, did her foot sting after tripping on that rock.

Levy glared at the offending rock and bumped right into Gajeel's back. He chuckled as she spluttered and quickly stepped back.

"Ya alright there shorty?" Levy just nodded.

"Why did you stop?"

"I think this would be a great place to make camp. You and Lily set up the tents and the site and I'll cover the perimeter to look for wood and water."

Levy smiled at Lily as he changed into his large form to help her get things cleared away and set up for the night. It was comfortable just the three of them on a mission. Levy couldn't help smiling to herself.

"Levy, I would just like to thank you for going on this mission with us."

"No worries. Though I am a bit surprised that the two of you took this mission. It doesn't really seem like your style."

Lily laughed as he pulled out his and Gajeel's tent. "You're right about that but Gajeel was very insistent that we take this specific job and that you needed to come with us."

Levy stilled in her movements for half a second as she tried to calm down her suddenly rapidly beating heart. "Is that so? He must be tired then if he took a mission with hardly any chance for fighting."

"I think it's more like he wanted someone specific to come with him and he'd rather they not fight if they don't have to." Levy dropped the corner of the tent she held and stared at Lily. He just kept working with a small smirk on his face. What could he possibly mean by that? Gajeel wanted her specifically to come with him but he didn't want her to fight? Why would he care?

Okay, so he was still trying to apologize for what happened the first time they met but that was years ago and she was sure that at this point if he didn't understand that she forgave him then she wasn't sure he ever would. But that still didn't explain why he would want her on a 'safe' mission with him? Something about the idea of the two of them alone with just Lily for company was strangely intimate and Levy suddenly become very nervous.

"You gonna finish setting up your tent shorty?"

Levy jumped and just stared at Gajeel as he moved around setting up the fire. He halted his movements and looked at her with his eyebrow raised.

"What? Oh! Yes, yes of course."

Levy stumbled around and set up her tent as quickly as she could mumbling to herself the whole time about how stupid she had been. By the time she finished Gajeel was sitting in front of the fire with Lily. The two of them weren't saying anything but it seemed like a comfortable silence. Levy felt like she was intruding but figured that she could read while they were staring into the fire or whatever they were doing.

She pulled out a book on a new language she was hoping to master soon. She placed it on her lap as she sat to the left of Gajeel and across from Lily. Gajeel's eyes were closed and Levy figured he was resting a bit and then would head to bed. She missed the way Lily watched them for a minute and then slunk away to his tent when he saw Gajeel open his eyes and try to peer into her book.

"Wow, you really are smart."

"Hm?" Levy was engrossed in her book and hadn't noticed the dragon slayer had moved closer to her. Their arms were touching as he leaned to look more onto the pages. Undecipherable words swirled next to each other. In small boxes there were descriptions about each sentence structure or vocabulary.

Levy finally found a stopping point and turned to ask Gajeel what he had said but she stopped before the words could even come out of her mouth. Gajeel was impossibly close to her. She could now feel the cold metal studs on his arms mixed with his natural body heat. His long, black hair was tickling her shoulder blade and she could smell the faint metallic scent of him. She knew she was gaping and blushing like an idiot but he was just so close. Curse her ability to get sucked into whatever she was reading! It made it possible for situations like this to happen.

Gajeel's brows were furrowed as he tried to read what was on her page. Levy finally found her voice again and slightly cleared her throat.

"What did you say?"

Gajeel turned and met her gaze. His red eyes bore into hers and she was sure that her heart rate had increased to an unhealthy level. His nose was practically touching hers as he whispered out his response.

"I said you are really smart."

Levy fought the urge to look down as her face erupted in a hot blush. "Thank you. I always feel like a second rate member of the guild because of my fighting ability so this is all I have."

Gajeel roughly grabbed her arm and moved so their noses were actually touching. He growled. Levy blinked a few times to register what had just happened.

"What did I say yesterday? Stop selling your self short. You're a fine mage and before this mission is over I'm gonna make you see it."

Levy was speechless for a few minutes as she processed what had just happened. "Are you telling me this whole mission is just to prove to me that I'm a capable mage? Because you didn't have to go through all this trouble."

"Yes I did. I knew that words wouldn't do anything for you. Figures for a girl who loves reading. And that's not the only reason. I wanted to go on a mission with you."

Gajeel's last sentence was spoken softer than the rest and Levy was suddenly made aware that he was still holding her close against him. Gajeel seemed to notice at the same time and gently released her arm but he didn't back away.

They sat there staring at one another in the firelight for longer than was customary. Levy's heart was beating so frantically she was sure she would pass out any minute. Gajeel's gaze ripped through her but not in anger. There was some other deep emotion that she couldn't quite pinpoint but it was intense and she felt like he was lighting her whole being on fire. For a minute she thought he might close the gap between them and kiss her but she instantly pushed the thought from her head. Didn't he say that she was far from his type?

After what felt like an eternity Gajeel slowly backed away and coughed minutely. "You should get some sleep. We'll head out pretty early tomorrow. I'll have Lil wake you up if you need."

Levy nodded and stood in a trance. She closed her book and headed into her tent. She stole one last glance at the dragon slayer as he doused the fire and headed into his own tent for the night. What had even just happened? Levy changed into a more comfortable night dress and snuggled into her sleeping bag. Her heart was still pumping erratically and she placed her hand on her chest to calm it down. It seemed to work because soon she was drifting into sleep dreaming about bold, red eyes.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 _Sorry it's taken me so long to add anything to this story! Gajeel is really hard for me to write for some reason._


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